


If You're Lonely, I'll Be Your Poodle

by AsagiStilinski



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anxious Katsuki Yuuri, Boys in Skirts, Character's Name Spelled as Viktor, Character's Name Spelled as Yuri, Comfort, Confident Katsuki Yuuri, Crying, Crying Victor Nikiforov, Dog Groomer Katsuki Yuuri, Dogs, Fluff, Hugs, Lonely Victor Nikiforov, Long-Haired Victor Nikiforov, M/M, Meet-Cute, Men Crying, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Victor Nikiforov Has No Chill, Victor Nikiforov Needs a Hug, dog show
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:08:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21569665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: Yuri is a groomer at a local dog show, and one of the competitors, Viktor, seemed to be a little too realistic when he was fake-crying on stage earlier... maybe, just maybe, Yuri can do something to help him...
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Comments: 6
Kudos: 202





	If You're Lonely, I'll Be Your Poodle

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a dumb pile of fluff that I hope you all can enjoy <3

This was probably a bad idea

Really, the last thing he should be doing was grooming at a dog show when he was still mourning Vicchan....

What was wrong with him?

Was he a masochist? ....Wait, don't answer that....

In all fairness, it wasn't like this was a typical dog show, none of the pretentious competition based on things like what dogs were closest to "breed standards" or had the shiniest coat or could jump the highest, it was a competition that Yuri could actually respect- one that focused instead on all of the best aspects of having a dog, the most fun aspects, things like cuddliness and affection and unique tricks, and rather than judging by breed standard, the dogs all wore little costumes

Best of all, it was all for charity and to help find homes for dogs who needed them

Yuri _loved_ this competition

...He just wished he had been able to bring Vicchan one year...

Tightening his jaw, he resisted the urge to start crying again, taking a shaking breath and biting the inside of his lip

It would be ok

It would be fine

Vicchan wouldn't want him to be so upset all the time, Vicchan always just wanted him to be happy...

Ah damn, it was no use, Yuri was about two seconds away from bursting into tears

"Excuse me!!"

Snapping out of it, he turned away from his kit of grooming tools and forced a smile

...Well, he did for a second anyway, until he took in the sight of the man who was calling him, because dear _gods_ was the guy gorgeous

He looked like an elf straight out of Lord Of The Rings, with long flowing silver hair and eyes that sparkled like winter ice, pale and rosy-cheeked and smiling so brightly it could make the sun hide away in shame

He was tall and lean but with a bit of muscle definition to him...... and he had a poodle

Granted, a standard poodle, and dark grey rather than chocolatey brown like Vicchan had been, but....

"Excuse me...?"

Right, right, the guy was talking to him- the guy with the gorgeous hair and the thick Russian accent that kind of had shivers sliding up Yuri's spine

"S-Sorry, yes?"

"Ah, where do I check in? I'm afraid I'm a bit lost," the silver-haired beauty pouted, tilting his head in Yuri's general direction

"O-Oh um, do you see the banner just over there? Behind that guy with the German Shepherd?"

The silver-haired beauty stood up a little taller to see where Yuri was pointing, then grinned brightly from ear to ear

"Ah, yes! I see it! That's where I need to go?"

"Yep, that's it,"

"Ok, thank you so much!"

Glancing down, the beauty spoke again- this time to his poodle

"Say 'thank you' Makkachin,"

The poodle- Makkachin- barked, and Yuri smiled immediately

He wondered if that was going to be the poodle's talent for the show, it would certainly win points if it was

"We'll see you later, thanks again!" the stranger hummed, giving a wave before practically skipping off down the crowded hall, the dog following just as enthusiastically behind him

Yuri took a deep breath, exhaled, and felt his shoulders sag, his expression warm and adoring

Ok, maybe- _just_ maybe- deciding to be here wasn't the worst choice he had ever made

~+~

_"Our next contestant is Makkachin Nikiforov and her human Viktor!"_

Yuri loved the way the announcers did things at this show, always treating the pets like the real stars and the humans like the sidekicks, just the way it should be

He also loved the fact that he was finally going to get to see more of the pretty boy and his pretty poodle

Viktor.....

A cute name that paired well with Makkachin's equally refined but adorable moniker

"You know what I love doing most with Makkachin?" Viktor called from the stage

"Talking to her!! I don't mean just chatting about my life wile she ignores me, I mean seriously, we have in depth discussions! For example, she knows all about pop culture!"

Turning to look down at the dog- who was sitting at his feet, tail wagging with happiness, clearly just excited to be around so many people- Viktor grew even more animated in his efforts

"Makka! What do you think of Taylor Swift's new album?"

The dog barked, standing up on her hind legs and doing a little dancing twirl

"Yeah, I think so too," Viktor laughed, grinning from ear to ear

"And what about Avengers Endgame?"

Immediately, Makkachin switched gears, her ears flattening down as she dropped to the floor and started to wimper, a terribly sad look on her face as she pawed at her nose

"Oh I know, it was so _sad_ , why did they have to do that?" Viktor sniffled

"I know, how do you feel about The Walking Dead?"

Makkachin sat up, her head tilting from side to side, much to Viktor's giggling amusement

"Conflicting right? I mean, how do you feel about Negan?"

Immediately, Makkachin started to growl, hopping up into a crouching, attacking sort of position

"That's how I feel too! But you still like Rick right?"

Just as quickly, Makkachin sat down, her head up and a regal, noble sort of pose to her body

"Yes! We shall forever be loyal to Rick Grimes, I'm so glad you agree!" Viktor beamed, pulling a dog treat out of his pocket and giving it to the excited poodle

"But talking about pop culture isn't the only thing she can do!" Viktor announced back to the audience

"She also gives me advice!"

He then spun around to a small box that he had behind him, reaching in and pulling out two different sets of shoes, both high heels, one red and one black

"Ok Makka! What looks better with this skirt? The red or the black?" he asked as he set the pairs of shoes in front of Makkachin

The dog stood up, looking between them both for a moment, sniffing at each, before pawing at the black ones

"Yes! I agree!"

Even Yuri agreed, those shoes definitely went better with the navy skirt Viktor was wearing than the red ones did

"Ok now Makka, we're going to get political here, we're going to have to deal with the fact that people will be angry with us, we're going to have to choose a side,"

Reaching into the box again, he pulled out two figurines- Captain America and Ironman

"Team Cap, or Team Ironman?"

Makkachin sniffed at them both again, but this time her decision was much quicker, gently pawing at the Captain America figurine

"Yeah, me too, I mean the Sakovia Accords were just nonsense right?"

He gave her another treat, and Yuri tried to hide a snicker under his breath

He shouldn't even be surprised that Viktor's idea of being "political" was choosing sides in a Marvel war

"But you know what I love _most_ about Makkachin?" he asked the audience, turning back towards them as the overly happy look faded from his face, and instead was taken over by something more somber and bittersweet

"She cares about me, she really, honestly, cares about me," he said softly, moving to sit on the floor of the stage and put his face in his hands, faking a sob

"Oh Makka.... why am I so alone? Why does nobody love me? I'm so sad... I'm so sad, it hurts so much..."

The words may have sounded exaggerated, but Yuri was... really, honestly, feeling for the guy

The sobbing sounded disturbingly real and seeing him wrapped up in himself and crying- even if it was fake- tugged on heart strings that Yuri didn't even know he had

Makkachin seemed to agree, jumping immediately to Viktor and wimpering, pawing at her human and trying to get to his face, licking at him and snuggling him

It was a very enthusiastic approach

And it was enough for Viktor to pull his head up, smiling at Makkachin happily

"Thank you Makka, I'm all better now! Look, see? I'm all better!"

Makkachin nocked him to the ground, snuggling and licking, her tail wagging up a storm as Viktor laughed and petted her and scratched behind her ears

And Yuri felt... strangely warm inside, and strangely sad too

Viktor's eyes looked a little glassier than they had before, like there were tears laying against them

All of a sudden Yuri had a sneaking suspicion that he knew why Viktor and Makkachin were so extremely close....

~+~

"Ah, Viktor? Congratulations on your win,"

The silver-haired beauty looked up from where he was securing Makkachin's blue-ribbon bandanna around her neck, beaming like a ray of sunshine up at Yuri

"Thank you!! Though it's Makka who deserves all the praise, all I did was put her costume on for her,"

Ah right, the cute Supergirl costume that the poodle had worn- that Yuri had a sneaking suspicion Viktor had made by hand

Not that the quality was bad, quite the opposite- the quality was far too _good_ for some mass produced scrap of fabric from Petsmart, there was clearly love woven into every thread and Yuri was convinced that if Viktor hadn't made it himself then it must have been a commission from someone else

"You're welcome, it's quite a pretty costume, did you make it yourself?"

"Oh yes! How could you tell?"

"It's pretty obvious,"

Yuri watched in horror as Viktor's face fell, and he noticed belatedly that that had _probably_ come out the wrong way

"I-I mean that you can tell it isn't some mass produced factory made thing because you can see the attention to detail and all the love you stitched in!! It looks professional, I thought it might have been a commission actually!"

Viktor's lips twitched up into a small smile, his expression much warmer- if a bit shyer- now that the confusion had been cleared up

"O-Oh... well then, in that case, thank you, I really appreciate that,"

"N-No problem, um... believe it or not I actually wanted to approach you about something _besides_ putting my foot in my mouth... um, I'm Yuri Katsuki, with On Love Grooming? I-"

"Ohh!!! Yes! The groomer the certificate is for!" Viktor gasped, his face suddenly lighting up as though he had just met a celebrity- and that, Yuri could assure him, he was not

"It's so good to meet you!! I've been looking for a new groomer for eight months now, it's getting really frustrating! I'm so glad I entered the show, if for no other reason than to find out about your lovely service, thank you so much for volunteering the prize!"

"W-Well, one of the prizes..." Yuri mumbled shyly

The dog show was for charity, all proceeds of ticket sales went to support the local animal shelter and the prizes were donated by local pet lovers, things like home-baked dog treats, custom made dog clothes, gift certificates from the local vet's office for a free nail clipping, and then Yuri's humble prize- a free Snow Queen Level grooming session

Yuri had a prize for all three ribbon places, something he considered to be a rather humble donation, but he had wanted to help however he could, and if that meant donating an hour or two of his time and services, then he was more than happy to do it

Atleast Viktor seemed happy with it

"The BEST prize!" Viktor insisted immediately

"You have no idea what these last several months have been like! My old groomer, who I've been doing business with for YEARS now, recently changed ownership and their policies went with it, they're no longer offering nail clipping, teeth brushing, or ear cleaning, I could technically do the last two myself but I feel it needs to be professionally done atleast once every few months, and the nail clipping I'm nowhere NEAR bold enough to attempt, for the amount it would cost me to take her to the vet to get her nails clipped _and_ pay the grooming fee, I might as well just hire somebody else, so I've been searching, but there's always a complication, just recently when I got her groomed for the show I thought I'd found my perfect match but the bastard burned my baby with the clippers! What sicko shaves a baby so close that they even CAN burn their skin? I've never groomed anything a day in my life- except myself- but even **I** know you shouldn't be shaving them that close! I even asked them NOT to shave her- I just wanted a puppy cut!"

"You're right, it was really irresponsible if they were shaving her so close that they actually burned her, the clippers should never be able to touch the skin, especially on a poodle," Yuri mused, leaning back and tapping his chin

And let him remark that wile Viktor may not be a professional groomer, what he had managed to do for his personal grooming over the years was _immaculate_ , that hair was a thing of another dimension...

"Well I'm just happy that we found eachother! I Googled you when I arrived and found out about the prizes, all of your reveiws are great! There's just one question I have- why haven't I heard of you before? I've scoured the internet for the last eight months and yet I've never seen anything about your business,"

"O-Oh... um, well I'm not really good with technology... my freind is the one who set up my website but I don't really know how to advertise on it...."

"What about social media?" Viktor asked curiously, head tilting to the side with his pretty long hair cascading down with the motion

"O-Oh um... I don't really... have it... I'm... I have an anxiety disorder? And so social media really.... really freaks me out...."

"Can you have someone run it for you? I would never ask you to trigger your anxiety but social media could really help,"

"I can't afford something like that," Yuri shrugged back simply

Sure Phichit had offered to take care of it for him, but Yuri knew how much time and effort went into social media maintenance and he wasn't about to ask Phichit for something like that, especially for free

"What if someone did it for you for free?"

Yuri's eyebrows raised, skepticism deeply etched into his expression

"I couldn't ask someone to do that,"

"But if I _offer_..."

Oh, Viktor was... offering himself...?

But why would he do that with no compensation for a complete stranger?

"I wouldn't feel comfortable accepting help with something that intensive and complicated without compensating you somehow,"

"Then in that case, how about this? I'll do your social media advertising, and in return, you help me brush Makka's teeth atleast once a week, how does that sound? As it is now I give her the teeth cleaning treats- not the green ones, the ones that are more edible- but I would prefer she still get her teeth brushed atleast once a week, it's just so difficult for me to handle on my own, she's quite a big girl! And she squirms alot, I could really use the help, especially from a professional,"

"And... that's enough for you?" Yuri asked hesitantly

"Yeah, that's plenty for me, so what do you say then? Is it a deal? Contengant on my liking your business, ofcourse,"

"O-Ofcourse," Yuri nodded quickly

"I-I mean, yes, yes that... sounds fantastic, thank you, really,"

"Oh don't worry about it, it's my pleasure!" Viktor smiled brightly

"Trust me, I'm happy to help, I like to spread the word about independent businesses, as I hope others do for me,"

"Oh, you have your own business too? What is it?" Yuri asked curiously

"A used bookstore! It's on Maple Street,"

A bookstore? A _used_ bookstore?

Yuri certainly hadn't been expecting that, with the way Viktor looked and the way he carried himself, he had been expecting more of a pedigree, something that had to do with fashion or something professional concerning pets, but... this actually sounded even _cuter_

Dammit, why was everything about Viktor so cute!?

"That sounds really nice, I've never been there before, but I'll have to check you out some time, I have to admit, it's surprising though, with how great your performance was, I had expected you to be a dog trainer or something,"

"Oh no no, that's really all her, I just-"

"Or maybe an actor," Yuri blurted out, now a little more lost in his thoughts than he had really intended to become

"An actor? Why that?" Viktor laughed

"Your performance, the crying and everything, it was really believable,"

Viktor gave a small, seemingly bittersweet smile at that

"Thanks, I've had alot of practice,"

Yuri tensed, wincing internally

He hadn't meant to bring up a touchy subject, and although it sounded like Viktor meant that he had just practiced the routine alot, his voice sounded tighter and Yuri had a feeling his "practice" had come alot more from honest experiences than just faking some tears in front of a mirror

And Yuri, who's heart was already so incredibly soft for Viktor, and who always wanted to comfort people when they were hurting, said the only thing that came to mind immediately after that statement

"Viktor, do you want a hug?"

The silver-haired beauty looked absolutely _stunned_ by that offer, his mouth opening a little and his eyes widening

"R-Really...?"

"Yes ofcourse," Yuri promised softly, holding his arms out encouragingly

And Viktor didn't wait even a _moment_ , he squeezed Yuri tightly the second he had confirmation, snuggling his face against Yuri's chest, and as soon as Yuri wrapped his arms around Viktor's back and returned the gesture, the poor thing broke down in tears

Yuri's heart ached for him, it really did, but he managed to stay calm and steady all the same, wispering sweet words of encouragement and comfort to him and gently rubbing his back, stroking his long hair...

Maybe he was having a bad day, or maybe something Yuri said had triggered him somehow, there was no way to know for sure unless Viktor flat out told him, but... if he had to guess.... Yuri wondered how long it had been since anyone had hugged Viktor

The way he clung to Yuri, the tightness of his embrace, the fact that he only seemed to cry even harder the more Yuri comforted him...

How long had it been since anyone had shown this man even the most basic of comforts...?

Yuri wasn't sure how long it took for Viktor to eventually stop crying, but when he did, he seemed to have gotten quite exhausted from it

He was still and quiet, his grip still somewhat tight but nothing at all like the vice grip he had had only moments before

"I'm sorry," he mumbled quietly against Yuri's chest, making no efforts to move

"I'm so sorry, I never meant to-"

"Viktor it's ok," Yuri interrupted, squeezing him a little bit tighter

"I promise, it's ok, I don't mind this, I really don't,"

Viktor's voice, when he spoke again, sounded so scratchy and squeaky, so different and overly emotional compared to the last time he had spoken to him without tears in the way, a quiet "ok" leaving his throat as Yuri hugged him once more, never having let go in the first place, just having loosened his grip- until now

"Viktor, do you... want to go get some coffee with me? There's a great cafe` that's dog freindy across the street from here, if you wanted, we could go, have some coffee and... talk,"

"R-Really?" Viktor mumbled back, pulling away just enough to rub at his eyes, but not any further

"Really," Yuri promised firmly, a gentle and warm smile on his lips as he carefully stroked his fingers through Viktor's hair

He liked Viktor- he liked him _alot_ , and he would take any opportunity to spend time with him, that on top of Yuri's desire to make him feel better after... all of this... he was more than happy to take Viktor out for coffee, maybe the company would help him through whatever had made him cry in the first place

"What do you say?"

Viktor smiled, warm and genuine, and gave a happy nod

"I'd really like that, Yuri,"

"Good," Yuri said softly, closing his eyes as he hugged Viktor harder one more time, before pulling back and taking his hand instead

"I'd really like that too,"


End file.
